launder

/ˈlɔːndə/

verb

1.

to wash, sometimes starch, and often also iron (clothes, linen, etc)

2.

(intransitive) to be capable of being laundered without shrinking, fading, etc

3.

(transitive) to process (something acquired illegally) to make it appear respectable, esp to process illegally acquired funds through a legitimate business or to send them to a foreign bank for subsequent transfer to a home bank

noun

4.

a water trough, esp one used for washing ore in mining

Derived Forms

launderer, noun

Word Origin

C14 (n, meaning: a person who washes linen): changed from lavender washerwoman, from Old French lavandiere, ultimately from Latin lavāre to wash

launder

verb

To transfer or convert funds so that illegal or dubious receipts are made to appear legitimate: The account money that had been ''laundered'' by being siphoned from this country into Mexico and returned under an alias(1961+)

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.Cite This Source